India government accused of vote buying

Published: July 18, 2008 at 2:17 PM
Order reprints
NEW DELHI, July 18 (UPI) -- The governing party of India has been accused of wholesale vote buying in order to stay in power during a battle for control of parliament.

An expected no-confidence motion has all India's political parties scrambling for allies, no matter the cost, The Times of London reported Friday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently met with India's richest man Mukesh Ambani while an MP reportedly said the ruling government was offering to pay up to 250 million rupees ($6 million) for each vote, the report said.

The political crisis was initiated when the Congress Party negotiated a nuclear deal with the United States that would allow importation of American nuclear fuel and technology. In response, the Communist Party left the coalition, leading many to expect a vote of no confidence and possibly a general election next November.

Other parties have also allegedly been involved in vote buying schemes.

"There are many like me who have been approached but no one has the spirit to come out in the open and put before the public what is happening in these dark corridors of power," said Akshay Pratap Singh, a Samajwadi Party MP, alleging that he had been offered money to vote against the government.


© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.



FDA still searching for E. coli source (4 min)
Na Yeon Choi leads Women's Open (7 min)
Report: Bivens out as LPGA commissioner (13 min)
Professor charged with sexual misconduct (17 min)
China quake destroys 10,000 homes (21 min)
LA spent $1.4 million on Jackson services (25 min)
5 teens killed by train at level crossing (38 min)
fark
"Oh damn." Obama caught blatantly ogling some of the nicer scenery at the G8 summit, while Sarkozy...
Photoshop this artistic smoker
Swami Baba Ramdev has challenged a landmark Indian court ruling legalising gay sex, claiming it...
AZ man blows a smooth .40 with almost sober looking mugshot
When trying to get away from the police, driving off a boat launch only works on tv and the movies....
Sears, Kmart already selling Christmas merchandise